Montreat College | Director of Annual Giving

Montreat College is a Christian liberal arts college accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to offer master's, bachelor's, and associate's degrees. The main campus is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, fifteen miles east of Asheville, North Carolina, in a region recognized as one of the most attractive living environments in the United States. The College is committed to Christ-centered teaching and learning, and is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities.

Montreat College is embarking on its most ambitious fundraising effort in its history and is building a team to bring this vision to fruition over the next three to five years. Both seasoned fundraising professionals and those who desire capital campaign experience would thrive in this role.  

Position Summary:

Reporting to the Vice President for Advancement, the Director of Annual Giving will be an experienced professional with a minimum of 3 years in fundraising or marketing. The successful candidate should demonstrate strong written and verbal communication skills and proficiency with donor management software. Responsibilities include developing and executing at least three targeted solicitation campaigns per year, maintaining regular communication with constituents, and tracking campaign performance and donor engagement using established metrics. The Director of Annual Giving will communicate and implement solicitation campaigns with alumni, parents, small-dollar donors, and community members, while personally cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding mid-level donors. This hybrid role requires frequent and as-needed presence on campus.

Responsibilities:

1. Manage contact with our constituents, maintaining regular communications through social media, phone, email, printed media, and video calls, as appropriate.
2. Identify annual fund donors for potential major and planned giving opportunities, progressively moving donors up in their financial and spiritual commitment to the College.
3. Under the direction of the Vice President for Advancement, execute a comprehensive Annual Giving appeal plan, including a calendar of activities/events, solicitation and segmentation methods, donor stewardship and recognition, volunteer engagement, budget, data analysis, and campaign evaluation/progress updates.
4. Execute multi-channel Annual Giving appeals, mailings, email and other promotional material to increase donor participation and dollars raised.
5. Partner with the Marketing staff to develop and implement annual giving creative, collateral, and branding across digital and print platforms.
6. Lead special giving initiatives, such as Giving Tuesday and associated stewardship efforts.
7. Manage administrative support for the President's Circle, a Montreat College giving society for donors who give $1,000 or more annually.
8. Develop strategies to encourage donors to progressively increase their giving.
9. Assist in writing proposals to foundations, churches, and corporations.
10. Other responsibilities as assigned.

• Commitment to the mission of the College, specifically a personal commitment to Jesus Christ and affirm and support the vision, mission, statement of faith, and community life covenant of Montreat College.
• Bachelor’s degree.
• Ability to network and grow relationships, leading to philanthropic support.
• Three years of related annual giving experience is preferred.
• Strong customer service skills.
• Experience executing direct mail and email campaigns.
• Experience personally soliciting annual fund gifts.
• An entrepreneurial self-starter with the demonstrated ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Knowledge of higher education fundraising strategies, including social media.
• Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and strong attention to detail.
• Ability to learn and utilize Advancement software, including Raiser's Edge.
• Ability to work with and manage data, including manipulating and analyzing data to inform fundraising strategies.
• Excellent command of English as a spoken and written language, including spelling, grammar, and proofreading skills.
• Desire to be on the cutting edge of new trends and technology that can optimize the annual giving program.
• Strong project management and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and gain cooperation of others.
• A sense of humor, grace under pressure, and a strong work ethic.

Work Environment: This hybrid role requires frequent and as-needed presence on campus.

Montreat College has engaged Capital Development Services (CapDev) to conduct a search for this position. Candidates are required to submit a cover letter, resume and faith statement. All information submitted by applicants will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. Additional inquiries may be directed to [email protected].